Studying Romans and Galatians: An Introduction (Part 1 of 2)

Interpretive Approach

Our modern-day religious environment has been heavily influenced by Martin Luther’s abbreviated gospel of sola fide (“faith alone”) and the Calvinistic tenets of Reformed Theology, creating a hermeneutical framework through which Romans and Galatians are widely interpreted.¹ These letters have been exploited over the centuries and forced to address questions they were not designed to answer. But if we examine the texts through first-century (pre-denominational) lenses, and seek to comprehend what the inspired author intended to communicate to his original targeted audiences and how they would have understood the message in light of their particular circumstances, we will be better equipped to avoid anachronistic misconceptions and to make legitimate present-day application. 

The Setting of Paul’s Letter to the Galatians

Paul knew these disciples personally, having spent approximately six years in Southern Galatia with Barnabas (ca. 44-50), teaching the gospel, making disciples, and establishing churches in the cities of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe (Acts 13–14).² Not long thereafter Paul returned to the region with Silas to follow up on and encourage these brethren (Acts 15:36–16:6), revisiting them yet again about three years later on his way back to Ephesus (Acts 18:23). The Lord’s work in this area, challenged by unreceptive, resistant, and antagonistic Jews,³ was most successful among Gentiles.⁴ When Paul wrote his letter to the Galatian churches, he was clearly dismayed and frustrated with them for so readily embracing a perverted gospel propagated by intruding Judaizing teachers (Gal. 1:6-7; 3:1).⁵

The Setting of Paul’s Letter to the Romans

At the end of his third missionary campaign, after having sent his letter to the Galatians and before heading to Jerusalem with a collection of funds for needy saints of Judea, Paul spent the three winter months of 56-57 in Corinth (Acts 20:2-3; cf. 1 Cor. 4:18-19; 16:2-7). During this time, while hosted in the home of Gaius, he and a scribe named Tertius penned the letter to the saints at Rome (Rom. 1:1; 16:22-23). The Lord’s church was already established in the imperial city, comprised of multiple house churches with members of both Jewish and non-Jewish backgrounds.⁶

Although Paul had never been to Rome, he had strongly desired for many years to visit these Christians (Rom. 1:10-15; 15:22-32), including several with whom he had formed relationships during his extensive missionary endeavors (cf. Rom. 16:3-15). Having invested nearly a quarter of a century spreading the gospel east of Rome in the regions of Syria, Arabia,⁷ Judea, Cilicia, Cyprus, Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia, Asia, and Illyricum (Acts 9:19–20:3; Rom. 15:19; Gal. 1:17–2:11), leaving behind self-sustaining congregations of the Lord’s church under capable leadership, the missionary-apostle was now setting his sights on unreached territories as far west as Spain (Rom. 15:20-28). 

Just as Syrian Antioch had been his base of operations in the east,⁸ he hoped that Rome could serve in this capacity in the west (Rom. 15:24, 30-33). In addition to securing their support, Paul felt the need to address and try to resolve apparent discord among brethren at different levels of understanding, faith, and conviction (Rom. 14:1–15:13). Moreover, in view of his ongoing conflicts with Judaizers and their destructive influence potentially preceding him to Rome (cf. Rom. 3:8; 4:9-12; 16:17-18),⁹ Paul also made sure to affirm and defend his authority as a divinely-appointed apostle and the integrity of the gospel message he preached (Rom. 1:1-17; 2:16; 11:13; 15:16-29; 16:25).

The categorical partitioning of the Roman disciples into ethnic “Jews” and “Gentiles,” as is common among many commentators, is unrealistic and overly simplistic. The more likely scenario is a collectivity of multiethnic believers that included Jewish brethren clinging to old traditions and regarded as “ultra-conservative” or even “legalistic,”¹⁰ other Jewish Christians distancing themselves from their former ways of Judaism and regarded as “progressive” or even “liberal,”¹¹ non-Jewish disciples leaning in both directions,¹² and more moderate brethren, like Prisca and Aquila, who were Jewish Christians already in line with Paul’s teaching and on good terms with Gentile brethren (Rom. 16:4).¹³

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ For example, the so-called “Romans Road to Salvation,” popular in a number of denominational tracts and webpages, cherry-picks selected verses from Romans to create a seemingly biblical case for belief-only salvation, but in so doing context is ignored and the multiple allusions to obedience, incl. baptism, are curiously omitted (cf., e.g., Rom. 1:5; 2:8; 6:1-18; 10:16; 16:19, 26).

     ² See K. L. Moore, A Critical Introduction to the NT 130-37, 242-45.

     ³ Acts 13:45-46, 50-51; 14:2, 4-6, 19.

     ⁴ Acts 13:42-49, 52; 14:27; 15:3, 12; Gal. 2:2-5; 4:8; 5:2; 6:12. Nevertheless, there appears to have been some receptive Jews as well (Acts 13:43; 14:1; 16:1).

     ⁵ Judaizers were Jewish converts to Christianity who held on to tenets of the Jewish religion and tried to bind them on non-Jewish Christians as conditions of salvation and fellowship (cf. Acts 15:1-5, 24; 2 Cor. 10–13; Gal. 1:7; 2:4-5, 11-16; 3:1; 4:17; 5:7-12; 6:12-13; Phil. 3:1-11).

     ⁶ Cf. Rom. 16:5, 14, 15. Note the alternating focus on Gentile Christians (1:5-6, 13; 11:13-24; 15:14-21) and Jewish Christians (2:17; 6:14-15; 7:4; 16:3, 7, 11).

     ⁷ See K. L. Moore, “What did Paul do in Arabia?” Moore Perspective (22 June 2016), <Link>.

     ⁸ Acts 13:1-3; 14:26; 15:30-35, 40; 18:22-23; cf. 11:25-30; 15:2-3.

     ⁹ By early 50 Judaizers from Judea had caused problems in Syria and Cilicia (Acts 15:1-5, 23), then moved west through Galatia (Acts 16:4; Gal. 1:6); by late 56 they had generated strife as far west as Achaia (2 Cor. 10–13), and by the early 60s were a potential threat in Macedonia (Phil. 3:1-11). Before heading to Rome, on his way eastward to the center of Judaism and Jewish Christianity, Paul was ready for arrest and even martyrdom for his faith and mission (Acts 20:24; 21:13) but also requested the prayers of the Roman brethren for deliverance (Rom. 15:30-33).

     ¹⁰ Early Christians in and/or from Judea would fit into this category (cf. Acts 11:1-3; 21:17-26). The Judaizers would be an extreme version of this.

     ¹¹ They would be comparable to the recipients of the epistle of James, antinomian-libertarian Jewish believers lax in observable demonstrations of faith (cf. Jas. 1:22–2:26). “Every truth has its perversion, and the doctrine of salvation by faith may easily have degenerated into the acceptance of a creed without a corresponding holiness of life. James does not deny the necessity of faith. He insists that faith must produce results” (M. C. Tenney, NT Survey [Rev.] 266-67). 

     ¹² These would be indicative of the respective audiences of Galatians and 1 Corinthians.

     ¹³ The saints at Philippi would also fit into this category. Paul’s correspondence to them is the most personal of any of his letters addressed to a Christian community but also includes pleas for unity in the midst of potential discord (Phil. 1:27; 2:1-18; 3:15-17; 4:1-3), with warnings of outside opposition and exhortations to faithfulness (1:28-30; 3:2-7, 18-19; 4:4-9).

Related Posts: Studying Romans & Galatians Part 2

 

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The Original Structure of the Book of Acts

The original version of the fifth book of the New Testament was not neatly divided into chapters and verses as in our contemporary English Bibles.¹  When Luke first penned this document, it appears to have been structured according to six general time periods,² each of which ends with a summary statement of the gospel’s progress:

·      “The word of God kept spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith” (6:7).³

·      “So the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace, as it was being built up; and as it continued in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it kept increasing” (9:31).

·      “But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied” (12:24).⁴

·      “So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily” (16:5).

·      “So the word of the Lord was growing and prevailing mightily” (19:20).

·      “Now Paul stayed two full years in his own rented lodging and welcomed all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching things about the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered” (28:30-31).

Accordingly, the historical record of the book of Acts is arranged in these six general blocks of time:

         Period                          Reference                    Dates AD⁵

         Period I                        1:1 – 6:7                       30-33

         Period II                        6:8 – 9:31                    33-36

         Period III                       9:32 – 12:24                36-44

         Period IV                      13:1 – 16:5                   44-50

         Period V                       16:6 – 19:20                 50-56

         Period VI                      19:21 – 28:31               56-62

Since the number seven symbolizes completeness,⁶ and the historical record of Acts covers only six general time periods, if this has any symbolic relevance, the book of Acts ends with the gospel story not yet completed. In other words, the narrative (of which we are a part) continues, even until the end of the age (Matt. 28:18-20). 

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ Stephen Langton (ca. 1150-1228), Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of Canterbury, is credited with having arranged the Latin Bible into the chapter divisions that are still used today, albeit poorly placed in a number of locations. The first printed Bible to use these chapter divisions was the 1382 English Bible of John Wycliffe. Following the lead of 15th-century Jewish copyists, French printer Robert Estienne, a.k.a. Robertus Stephanus (1503-1559), was the first to add verse divisions to both the Old and New Testaments, originally published in the 1560 Geneva Bible. 

     ² See C. H. Turner, “The Chronology of the New Testament,” in A Dictionary of the Bible, ed. James Hastings (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1898-1904) 1:421; also F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988) 123 n. 20; D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo, and Leon Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992) 181-82.

     ³ Unless noted otherwise, scripture quotations are from the NASB 2020.

     ⁴ The last verse of chapter 12 opens the discussion of chapter 13 and therefore does not directly belong to the section that immediately precedes it.

     ⁵ These dates are approximations, and one will find slight chronological variations among NT scholars. For further notes on these particular dates, see K. L. Moore, Getting to Know the Bible (New Plymouth NZ: World Literature Publications, 2002): 90-99.

     ⁶ See K. L. Moore, “Daniel’s Prophecy of ‘70 Weeks,’” Moore Perspective (10 March 2021), <Link>; and “The Number 666,” Moore Perspective (27 Jan. 2021), <Link>.

Related Posts: Authorship of Luke-Acts, Dating of Luke-Acts, Luke's Audience, What Happened After Acts?  

 

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Tackling the Interpretive Challenges of Revelation 20

The Thousand Years 

The “thousand years” of Rev. 20:2-7 is no more literal than the other symbols in the text, such as the key, bottomless pit, chain, dragon, beast, etc. Since Revelation makes frequent use of figurative language,¹ there is no reason to assume that the “thousand years” was meant in a literal sense. In fact, the number 1000 is a commonly used symbolic figure in scripture. 

Job affirms that a person cannot answer God “one time out of a thousand” (Job 9:3). Rather than limiting God, this hyperbolic comparison simply means that humans are totally incapable of contending with him. The psalmist acknowledges that “the cattle on a thousand hills” belong to God (Psa. 50:10). This is not to say that the cattle on more than a thousand hills do not belong to him, rather he owns the indefinite/complete number of cattle. To God “a thousand years” are like a single day (Psa. 90:4). To take this literally would mean that he can, to some degree, be bound by human time. But since God is eternal (Deut. 33:27), this is simply a metaphoric way of saying that time has no relevance to him. While “ten days” symbolizes a relatively short, yet complete, period of time from a human perspective (cf. Rev. 2:10), “a thousand years” symbolizes a relatively long and complete period. As a symbol it does not specify an exact number.

Since Christ began his reign in the first century AD (Matt. 28:18; Acts 2:30-36; 1 Pet. 3:22), and Christians are now reigning as priestly servants with Christ in a spiritual sense (Rom. 5:17; 1 Pet. 2:5-9), and Christ’s reign certainly did not end in AD 1033, the “one thousand years” of Rev. 20 would then refer, not to linear time per se, but to the long, indefinite period of Christ’s reign in his spiritual kingdom—the church (John 18:36-37; Col. 1:13). It connotes an extended period of completion of God’s work on earth, serving as a symbol of ultimate victory. When Jesus returns, he will deliver the kingdom to the Father (1 Cor. 15:23-24).

The Binding and Release of Satan 

The chapter begins with a past event (as in 12:1-5) and ends with a future event. Note the symbols: the “key” symbolizing power to bind or loose (cf. Matt. 16:19; Rev. 1:18); the “chain” symbolizing whatever restricts the power of Satan; the “bottomless pit” symbolizing that which prevents the devil from deceiving and controlling the nations as he did before he was “bound.” Satan was bound and continues to be restricted by the power of the gospel (1 John 3:8; Heb. 2:14-15; Rom. 6:9-18; Jas. 4:7; Eph. 4:8). This does not, however, render him completely inactive (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8). Those who do not submit to or remain in the teaching of Christ essentially walk away from divine protection and into the devil’s grasp (2 Thess. 2:9-12). A vicious dog may be bound on a chain, locked behind a fence, and sealed with the warning: “Beware of Dog.” But the person who wanders into the dog’s domain will suffer the consequences.

Some have suggested the releasing of Satan “for a little while” may indicate a time when either the church will be hindered, by persecution or government restrictions, from freely preaching the gospel, or the gospel may lose its influence because of hardened hearts and rejection. Neither interpretation, however, is biblically necessitated.

The “little while” may be nothing more than the time it takes for all the events of the Lord’s return to transpire, including the resurrection of the dead and bodily transformation of the righteous snatched away from the earth (1 Thess. 4:15-18). These are the ones who have been proclaiming, obeying, and defending the gospel and thus restricting the devil’s work. This momentary release of Satan, concurrent with the events of Christ’s return, will happen “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52). Jesus is coming with flaming fire and judgment, at which time the enigmatic “man of lawlessness” (personification of false religion as the work of Satan) will be revealed but immediately consumed by the Lord’s fiery vengeance (2 Thess. 1:7–2:10).²

Conclusion

The rest of Rev. 20 (vv. 11-15) continues with a vivid scene of God’s victory and judgment. Despite the challenging details of this chapter’s apocalyptic imagery, in the end the Lord’s people are victorious and our spiritual enemies are defeated and ultimately face divine retribution.

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ See K. L. Moore, “Confused By the Book of Revelation?,” Moore Perspective (3 Nov. 2021), <Link>.

     ² See K. L. Moore, “The Man of Lawlessness (Part 1),” Moore Perspective (12 July 2017), <Link>.

Related Posts: Introducing the Book of Revelation (Part 3), The Kingdom of God (Part 1) 

 

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